Hundreds of knives handed in to police
MORE than 500 knives have been handed in at police amnesty bins since the start of the lockdown.
In February, GMP placed 12 knife amnesty bins at police stations across Greater Manchester.
Officers have now emptied the bins for the first time since the start of lockdown and found a total of 554 knives have been handed in.
Police launched the #ForeverAmnesty campaign alongside the British Ironwork Centre in response to a national surge in knife crime and high profile court cases.
Last September a trial run of the bins proved to be successful, with 1,000 weapons being handed in over a five-month period.
Sgt Paul Nolan, of
Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit, said: “The total number of weapons deposited in the bins since February was 554 knives, which is a huge amount considering we haven’t advertised the bins during lockdown.
“The bins remained available throughout the Covid-19 pandemic as a safe option to dispose of a weapon for those who may have felt vulnerable. “We are delighted with the number of knives that have been deposited. Any knife or weapon which is handed in is one less on our streets, and more importantly, one less that cannot be used as part of a crime.
“The amnesty is not about secrecy, it’s to allow people to bring a knife to a police station where they can deposit it into a bin.
“The purpose is to reduce the number of knives on the streets of Greater Manchester and this is proving to be a safe and secure way of doing this. The #ForeverAmnesty is one of a number of initiatives we are progressing to reduce violent crime across Greater Manchester. Through the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit we work closely with partners such as UK Border Force and the Royal Mail to identify weapons imported to the Greater Manchester area.
“We carry out targeted intelligenceled weapons sweeps which can result in locating weapons hidden for later use.”
Yesterday, the M.E.N. reported that dozens of weapons, including stun guns, crossbows, axes and blades, were among items seized during a crackdown on knife crime in south Manchester. The haul was recovered during a seven-week operation which also saw nine arrests.
Working with Royal Mail and Border Force, GMP intercepted weapons purchased online from abroad.